For The Love Of Rice
by Violet Lunar Wolf
Summary: Rice is nice. As long as Alecto has rice, she's happy.


**For The Love Of Rice**

_Written for the SS Mushiness event on Morsmordre._  
_Prompt - Proper_  
_Pairing - Alecto/rice_

_A/N: You've heard of Drapple, right? Well, this is Alectrice - Alecto/rice._

* * *

They said it wasn't proper, a grown woman playing in a sandbox full of rice. They told her it was childish, that she should have outgrown the desire to play with food.

On and on they droned, like a broken record. Those sniffy old ladies, they never knew when to stop. So it came as no surprise when Maisie discovered a pair of severed legs just visible in the sand at the playground.

"Alecto," began Maisie, her hands planted on her hips. She pointed at the bloody limbs sticking straight up in the air. "Did you do that?"

Alecto put her finger in her mouth and sucked on it. "Maybe," she answered, glancing sideways at the remains in the sandbox.

Maisie shook her head and sighed. "I told those women to leave my baby alone. They should have known better than to interrupt your riceplay. Amycus, please don't lick those," she added, seeing her husband with his tongue stretched across the sandbox, the tip dangerously close to the sniffy old lady parts.

She took Alecto by the hand, making sure she had her cloth bag of rice before going home. "I'm sure that'll make the news," she said, taking one last look at the old lady's remains. "Then I'll have something to read from the obituaries at bedtime."

"Fine with me," said Amycus, brushing the sand off his robes. "So long as I can lick the papers when you're finished with them."

.oOo.

All was well until they returned home for the evening. Maisie unlocked the front door and was about to step inside when Alecto let out an earsplitting wail and burst into tears.

Maisie held her hand, speaking softly while trying to discern what was wrong. Her daughter, who was unable to speak because she was so upset, held up her cloth bag of rice. It was empty. The bag had split along the seam, spilling rice down the street during their walk home.

"This will never do," said Maisie, now stroking her daughter's back. She turned to her husband and said, "Her rice bag sprung a leak, Amycus."

"And it was special, too!" Alecto cried, her sentence broken by hiccuping sobs. "Auntie Dragon gave it to me! It had shiny sequins sewn on it and everything. And it kept my rice all warm and comfy."

Amycus reached into his pocket with his tongue, the pendulous organ curling around his wand. A brief incantation was enough to repair the rip in the bag. But when tried summoning a fresh batch of rice from the house, nothing happened.

This was enough to surprise all three of them, because they always kept the house fully stocked with several bags of rice. Alecto's bedroom in particular was covered in rice from floor to ceiling, with various types of rice separated into piles for easy access.

Together they turned, staring through the front door and wondering why the rice had yet to make an appearance. Amycus tried casting the spell again, splattering the walls with saliva as he waved his wand. Nothing happened.

Curious, Maisie took a step inside, and spied a note on the coffee table. Her husband saw the note as well, reacting with lightning speed as his tongue shot out like a chameleon.

"It's from Walburga and Druella," he said, holding up the note with his tongue. "They kidnapped Alecto's rice while we were out, claiming that it was 'for her own good so she'll grow into a proper young lady.'"

Alecto sniffled and sank to the floor, tears dripping down her cheeks and staining the fabric of her dress. "But... but I want my rice," she whimpered.

The atmosphere around her shifted, a shadow spreading beneath her on the floor. Amycus and Maisie took a step back, the earth quaking beneath their feet. The vibrations grew in strength, rattling the glass in the windows as her cries built into a horrendous scream.

Rice started pouring in from the four corners of the neighborhood, smashing through walls, tearing through hedges and becoming airborne. It flew out of cupboards and pantries, boxes and bags. It escaped from the rice fields more than thirty miles down the road, ripping up the dirt as entire plants shot out of the ground.

Amycus and his wife were horrified, watching the swarm of rice swirling overhead like an ominous cloud. Then all at once it began to rain rice from the heavens, which made Alecto so happy she tore off her clothes and ran naked through the rice storm to celebrate.

Alecto threw herself into the nearest pile of rice, rolling in it and making rice angels. "I'll call this one George, and this one Harold, and these two are Marge and Gregory," she said happily, caressing the rice like it was a beloved pet.

"Maisie," Amycus said at length, watching as his sister scooped up an armful of rice and threw it into the air. "What exactly are we going to do with all this rice? It won't fit in the closet. And I daresay there isn't enough room in the basement."

Maisie looked at her husband and smiled. "I'm a Malfoy," she said unconcernedly. "Which means that I can afford to build a guest house for all this rice. It'll be her very own rice playhouse, with plenty of spells and enchantments so the sniffy old ladies can enter."


End file.
